Fit Brains is a site that allows you to "train your brain" in fun and easy ways. The site requires a free registration (email required). In as little as 5 - 10 minutes a day, you can train your brain to improve memory and attention. In the "Games" section you will find activities for problem solving, concentration, memory, language, and visual. Even adults can benefit from some of the brain exercises.

In the Classroom

This site is great to give students a brain break while still keeping them focused. The website is a great tool to use as a center or to provide a student reward. Use this site to help your students build their concentration and language skills. You can also use the site to help students develop important study skills. Psychology classes may want to analyze why the games promote better brain skills. You do need to register for the free trial in order to access the games. If students register individually they will be able to track their progress. If you plan to have students register individually, you may want to create your own Gmail account with up to 20 subaccounts for each group of students (by code name or number) within your classes. Here is a blog post that tells how to set up GMail subaccounts to use for any online membership service. You could also just create a class login that students could use to access the additional games.

This application for note-taking is extremely simple to use, but performs in a very sophisticated way. There is a very easy text tutorial and FAQ to tell you about such features as creating an outline, accessing the DuckDuckGo search engine or looking up a word on the Merriam-Webster online dictionary without ever leaving your notes. It also connects to definitions from Wikipedia. And, you can automatically send your notes to your Amazon Kindle device. For math and science, the text tutorial will also show you how you can enter equations in your notes using the LaTeX format.

In the Classroom

If you do not approve use of Wikipedia, you will want to state this up front to your students. Before turning your students loose with this program, use your interactive whiteboard, projector and Quicklyst to show them how to put information in their own words. Then you can have them use Quicklyst to take notes for any type of summarizing or research. Create separate accounts on Quicklyst for student research groups. Students can then easily share their notes with their group members. Create a class account, and use your interactive whiteboard and projector along with Quicklyst to have the class create a study guide for a test on any subject. These can be saved and used for notes for a final test. If there is a common class password, students will be able to access the notes from home.

Whether you are a lover of major league baseball or have a "soft spot" for overcoming the odds stacked against you and achieving a dream - the American dream, you will find videos and activities on this Web site that will surely capture the hearts and attention of the boys as well as the girls in your class.

Every year, people across the country pause on April 15 to celebrate the historic event that marks the anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in baseball in 1947. Use this educational program to bring the significance of Jackie Robinson's legacy to your classrooms. Although Breaking Barriers centers around an essay contest, you may choose to simply use the ideas to offer and assist your students in learning opportunities to teach them values that will enable them to face their own barriers and express themselves in written form. There are lessons, printables, book lists, and more that align with language arts, math, and social studies national standards.

In the Classroom

Share the video of Jackie Robinson's daughter, Sharon Robinson, on your interactive whiteboard or projector. Listen to her personal story of her famous baseball player Dad's courage, determination, integrity, and persistence to break the color barrier on and off the playing field. Use an online tool like bubble.us reviewed here to engage students in whole class brainstorming of some of the real life barriers that students face today, and then lead into a journal writing activity for students to think about how to use Jackie Robinson's values to face and overcome barriers in their own lives. Whether you are celebrating the anniversary of Jackie Robinson Day, Black History month, a unit on courage and heroes, or introducing these concepts anytime during the year, the downloadable and whiteboard ready materials will increase the richness of your class discussions and broaden students' understanding of how to make a difference in their own lives and the lives of others.

Find an extensive list of great inventions on this straightforward site. The "look" is simple, but the information useful. Click each invention to view information on its invention, the inventor, and other related information including links to other topics. Note that ads do appear on these pages. Caution students to avoid them.

In the Classroom

Find information for science and technology reports on this site. Allow students to view the dates of many of the inventions to determine what scientific principle was just known to push technological thinking. Create a timeline of inventions to determine the impact of science, economy, and society on inventions. Use a site such as TimeRime reviewed here. Choose an invention and research other forms of that model, alternatives before and after, and what we are using today. Discuss environmental impacts, how the invention changed society, and other impacts.

Use this free service to create magazines from your Flickr account. Authorize MagCloud to access your flickr account to pull album pictures into a magazine. Registration on the site is required using an email address though verification is not required. Magazines can be printed for a fee or shared and viewed online for free. Click Browse after creating your account to view already created magazines. Search using search terms and by clicking on popular topics. Click Publish to begin creating your own magazine. Enter a title, subtitle, description, and category. Next, create an issue title, decide whether it will be public or private, and choose tags. Connect with your Flickr account, choose your Flickr album, and create the album easily. Setting your album to public allows others to view and buy (which can provide income as well.) Set Bind/price to choose bindings and price. Check the box if you wish free download to iPad.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Users must have a Flickr account and be able to navigate the authorizing of flickr as well as choosing an album to publish. Be sure to create titles in Flickr since these are imported as well.

Be sure to check district policy about creating student accounts and publishing student pictures and/or other material before using this tool. Note that by choosing Public in creating the magazine, the magazine is viewable online. Check your District policy. When browsing existing magazines, note that these may not be monitored and check for possible classroom-inappropriate material (though none was detected at the time of the review.) Consider creating a class Flickr account for students to upload class and group pictures.

Use a class Flickr account to keep track of day to day happenings in the classroom (especially for younger grades). Create albums of specific events such as field trips, service projects, hands-on activities, field experiences such as watershed studies, and more. Uploaded photos can easily be manipulated into an online album. Art and photography classes can use the magazine format as a portfolio. Create a magazine of photos that portray different history and social topics, set the scenes for novels or stories, or explain a specific science concept. Anywhere photos can be used to showcase achievement or explain a concept, this service would be a great resource. Special ed teachers, speech teachers, or world language teachers can collect images into "magazines" for students to practice/develop speech and vocabulary.

This site offers a comprehensive look at Daylight Saving Time. The introduction gives a brief explanation of how Daylight Saving Time was implemented to allow us to receive more benefits of available sunlight. Be sure to check out the link with incidents and anecdotes related to Daylight Saving Time. In addition, there is a map demonstrating the use of Daylight Saving Time across the globe and explanations of the history of the adoption of DST. One interesting feature of the site is the ability to switch from a "normal" page view to "nodes". The nodes view looks like clouds, each one is labeled with a topic and is linked to additional information. There is also a link to SpicyNodes, where you can create your own clouds to be used on web pages, blogs, presentations and more.

In the Classroom

Divide students into cooperative learning groups to explore the site. Have them present the different anecdotes and incidents to the class using different media such as video, booklets, etc. Challenge students to create a video and share using a site such as SchoolTube (reviewed here). Or create an online book using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here. In addition to the anecdotes on the site, gifted students can be challenged to find additional stories that relate to Daylight Saving Time. Introduce this site on your interactive whiteboard or projector then have students explore this site independently or in small groups. Use the site as a discussion starter when assigning a creative writing assignment with a topic such as, "I forget to turn my clock back and..."

The Library of Congress created this animated series of quick, short videos explaining what copyright is all about and why it is important for your students to protect their creations. There is a timeline of some of the milestone copyright laws, frequently asked pertinent questions such as, "Is it okay to use someone else's work or for anyone to use my work?" and everything you need for actually registering a copyright electronically. For those of you who may choose to use a printed version of these materials, you can click on the link to view a plain text version of all the activities. Students are never too young or too old to learn about and be reminded about copyright responsibilities.

In the Classroom

Students have become "copy and paste" fanatics, but do they know the answer to, "If the material is on the Internet can I use it?" Even though they might not see a copyright notice on a website, that doesn't mean they're free to copy whatever they see or hear. Project these no-nonsense, impressionable videos on your classroom whiteboard or projector to set the tone for expectations when doing research and other projects, or use the printable versions, (these may be more adaptable and appropriate for older students), to emphasize your position on plagerism. Be sure to provide this link on your class website.

You may want to take it full circle by having the class compose and submit a song, poem, or other work to the Library of Congress to register a copyright. Be aware that there is a fee to submit the application, so you might want to consider doing a whole class project to send as one registration.

Create online sticky type bulletin boards to view from any online device using Lino. Click to try it first without even joining. The trial canvas has stickies explaining how to use Lino. Join and create your own canvases to share stickies, reminders, files, and more. Change sticky colors from the menu in the upper right hand corner or use the easy editing tools that appear when the sticky is selected. Use the icons at the bottom of each sticky note to "peel them off," share, edit, and more. Create a group from your Lino page to share and collaborate on canvases. You can also share canvases publicly so anyone with the URL can participate. This is a device-agnostic tool, available on the web but also available for free as both an Android and iOS app. Use it from any device or move between several devices and still access your work. App and web versions vary slightly.

In the Classroom

Use this tool easily in your Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) classroom since all students will be able to access it for free, no matter what device they have. Students can use this when researching alone or in groups, sharing files, videos, and pictures quickly from one computer to another. Have students write tasks for each member of the group on a sticky so that everyone has a responsibility. Show them how to copy/paste URLs for sources onto notes, too. Use Lino as your virtual word wall for vocabulary development. Use a Lino for students to submit and share questions or comments about assignments and tasks they are working on. Use it as a virtual graffiti wall for students to make connections between their world and curriculum content, such as "I wonder what the hall monitor would say finding Lady Macbeth washing her hands in the school restroom... and what Lady M would say back." (Of course, you will want to have a PG-13 policy for student comments!) Encourage students to maintain an idea collection lino for ideas and creative inspirations they may not have used yet but do not want to "lose." They can color code and organize ideas later or send the stickies to a new project board later. In writing or art classes, use lino as a virtual writer's journal or design a notebook to collect ideas, images, and even video clips. In science classes, encourage students to keep a lino board with (classroom appropriate) questions and "aside" thoughts about science concepts being studied and to use these ideas in later projects so their creative ideas are not 'lost" before project time. A lino board can also serve as a final online "display" for students to "show what they know" as the culmination of a research project. Add videos, images, and notes in a carefully arranged display not unlike an electronic bulletin board. This is also a great tool to help you stay "personally" organized. Use this site as a resource to share information with other teachers, parents, or students.

This interactive online resource is an instructional tool presented as a virtual quilt of women in history, ranging from accomplished authors to civil rights activists, gold medalists, politicians, and more. How many do you recognize? Mouse over each photograph if you need a hint, then click on each quilt block to learn more about the person. This brings up a summarized biography page that students can read or click on the audio to listen. There are also links to more in depth related material.

In the Classroom

Of course Women in History month is the perfect time to make this site available to your students, however, you may use this link anytime as a fascinating way to discover women's contributions to history. Use it in a general manner by displaying and demonstrating it on your classroom whiteboard to introduce the many female heroes who have contributed to and made a difference in our lives, or use it more specifically to springboard a research assignment. As an alternative to writing a report, have your students create an interactive online poster ("glog") using Glogster EDU, reviewed here. or for those even more advanced technology users, students can collaborate to create an interactive timeline with images and text by working with xtimeline reviewed here.

Shmoop has done it again by adding slideshows to their literature, civics, and history sections! With "Picture This," you can add visual interest and engage visual leaeners in your history, civics or literature units. What's more, you can copy and paste the HTML for the slide show onto your own web page. There are slide shows for every unit in civics and history, and for 40 of the literature units. You will know if the literature unit has a slide show by looking in the menu bar at the top for "new photos." View photos of the presidents, The Civil War, Hamlet, and much more.

In the Classroom

Give students some background knowledge before they start reading for a unit. Put the slideshow on your own site so the captions don't show. Then use your projector or interactive whiteboard to show the images to the students while they jot down what they observe and infer about each image. Once the students have finished, have a class discussion based on what they observed and what this says about the topic. Then click on "full size." This will take you to Shmoop to see what the captions say about the picture. At this point you can click on one of the orange tabs at the top to read the summary for the topic, view a timeline, etc.

Are you looking for some "fresh" ideas to put an end to bullying in your classroom but are not sure where or how to start? Well, you are in the right place. This web site brings attention to No Name-Calling Week: an annual week of realistic educational activities designed to end all types of name-calling. No Name-Calling Week was inspired by the young adult novel, The Misfits, and presents an opportunity to address bullying as an increasingly, ongoing issue. Whether you are a teacher, student, administrator, counselor, or parent, there is an abundance of useful ideas, activities, and materials for elementary, middle, and high schools to promote anti-bullying awareness, and they are all free!

In the Classroom

Use the resources from this web site to plan and implement lessons that students will relate to, and help to bring an end to harmful name-calling and "dissing." Select some of the many safe Web 2.0 tools reviewed by TeachersFirst Edge, such as Automotivator, reviewed here for designing digital posters that can be printed, or PhotoPeach, reviewed here for creating a digital slideshow that includes music, captions, and more. TeachersFirst also has an entire collection of on line resources to create comic strips, available here to drive home the message that bullying is never a laughing matter.

This collection of reviewed resources from TeachersFirst is selected to help teachers, parents, and students find, use, and create webquests. Teachers can find examples of webquests across the curriculum (and places to find MORE). Both students and teachers can find tools for creating their own webquests. We have even included some sample web resources as terrific seeds for webquest ideas.

In the Classroom

Mark this in your professional favorites for planning and finding webquests. The webquest format has been around for years and can be adapted many ways. Start from this collection and consider designing a webquest "Task" that uses a collaborative, web 2.0 tool such as those reviewed in the TeachersFirst Edge listings. Today's students will love the authentic, creative tasks and collaboration made possible by today's tools. TeachersFirst Edge reviews include ways to use the tools safely and within school policies, for a learning "win-win." You might even want to have student groups design their own webquests for classmates to try as a new twist on "jigsaw" learning.

Use Polldaddy to create polls or surveys to place on a blog, wiki, or site. Sign up to register (email address is required.) Choose your template and style. Change various features such as progress bar, restrictions, and notifications. Choose from Free Text, Multiple Choice, or a Matrix. Enter your question and choices. Upload media if desired. Click Finish and Embed when done with the survey. Use the embed codes and links for either creating a pop up page, or embedding directly into a page on a blog, wiki, or site. View reports of the results, locations, and participants of the survey.

In the Classroom

Users must be able to determine the question and possible responses to generate the poll online. Remember to Publish your quiz to be able to share it.

This tool does not show the individual votes of students. Though this tool can be used by students, it may be best used by a teacher. Students using this tool, need an email to register.

Use polls created using Polldaddy on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge as you start a new unit, asking questions about the material. Discuss in groups why those in class would choose a particular answer to uncover misconceptions. Use for Daily quiz questions to gain knowledge of student understanding and a means of formative assessment. Have student groups alternate to create a new poll for the next day. Place a poll on your teacher web page as a homework inspiration or to ask questions to increase parent involvement. Older students may want to include polls on their student blogs to increase read involvement or create polls to use at the start of project presentations. Use polls to generate data for math class (graphing), during elections or for critical thinking activities dealing with interpretation of statistics. Use "real" data to engage students on issues that matter to them.

Use Quiz Snack to create polls or surveys to place on a blog, wiki, or site. Choose among Poll, Survey, or Personality Quiz. Enter your question and choice. Click the boxes to Shuffle Options and even display a Show Results button. When done, click Save and Customize to choose from templates. Change styles and colors. Click Publish to share via a link, obtain an embed code, or share through Facebook, or email.

In the Classroom

Users must be able to determine the question and possible responses to generate the poll online. Remember to Publish your quiz to be able to share it. This tool does not show the individual votes of students. Though this tool can be used by students, it may be best used by a teacher. Students using this tool, need an email to register.

In the classroom: Use this site on a projector or interactive whiteboard to discuss and informally assess prior knowledge as you start your study by asking questions about the material. Discuss in groups why those in class would choose a particular answer to uncover misconceptions. Use for Daily quiz questions to gain knowledge of student understanding and a means of formative assessment. Place on a teacher web page as a homework inspiration or to ask questions to increase parent involvement.

Unsure of classroom uses for Voicethread? On this site, teachers share successful projects that use Voicethread. Choose from the subjects along the left side. Read articles sharing ideas, challenges in the use of Voicethread, and a sample Voicethread to view. New to Voicethread? Check our review of Voicethread here.

In the Classroom

Find great project ideas from educators who have used Voicethread in the classroom. For example, in Math find great projects about measurement, probability, and problem solving. In Science, view stories about Astronomy. View projects about Ellis Island and the Reconstruction along with other Social Studies examples. Find great projects on these subjects as well as Language Arts, Foreign Language, Information Technology, Professional Development, and Performing Arts. Have a great project using Voicethread? Join the community and submit your as well.

The Rosa Parks: How I Fought for Civil Rights website includes free printable lesson plans, worksheets, an interview, a biography, and other reading material that can be easily viewed full-screen on your classroom interactive whiteboard. The site is easy to navigate with links built right into the text for vocabulary and other relevant information. The activities help students understand the importance and necessity of every individual citizen in a democracy working together to contribute to a better way of life for all.

In the Classroom

Spark your students' interest for how one brave individual changed history by not giving up her bus seat to a white passenger. Whether you are doing a unit on people who make a difference, civil rights, tolerance, or studying women and events in history, this self-contained website provides resources and materials that you can display on your classroom whiteboard and involve students in using the interactive links to enhance learning and spring board discussions on what still needs to be done in regards to acceptance and embracing racial, ethnic, and cultural differences. Use an online tool like The Interactive Three Circle Venn Diagram, reviewed here, to compare and contrast discrimination in our country then with similar challenges we face today, and what still needs to be accomplished for a better tomorrow. Broaden the concepts to include that even when we are brave and have courage, change doesn't come about immediately; it takes time and continued perseverance. Culminate the unit with a writing prompt for students to reflect on and explain: Have you ever faced something that you thought you couldn't stand up to?

Here you will find a quick and interesting learning styles quiz for your students to take. You don't need to sign in. No email address or registration is required. Once you've found your dominate style there is a description, and, best of all, tips for the best way for you to learn. Some of the learning styles also include possible career choices.

In the Classroom

Have your students open a word document and save it. Then have them take the quiz, without signing up. Use the "Print Screen" feature on the computer to have the students copy their test. They can then paste it in their word document. Next have them look to see what is their most dominate style, and have them copy and paste the description for that style first, then their next dominate and so on. Not only can your students use this when trying to figure out final projects for assessments, but if they are having trouble with tests, they can look and see what might help them when it comes to study time. You can also use the results to group students or for them to select a "study buddy" before tests! Many of the styles include possible careers for students to pursue.

Use this easy site to find any address on satellite view. Show My Street uses Google Street View. Type in an address. As you type, street views that begin to match the address will appear. As you continue to type, the street views continue to change. (This is actually a really great way to see other places.) Zoom in on your address using the same tools found in Google Maps. Share the location by clicking on the Twitter, Facebook, or link icons.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Have students choose any place, then post the link to it on a blog, wiki, or website, and write a description of it. Describe what they would see out of their window, create a story about what they hear or see, or describe their family and what's inside of the house. Research the history of the area to determine how it may have been different in the past. Of course you will went to avoid posting personal information on the web, but students could write fictional stories or keep personal information out of their writings. Describe the wildlife (plant or animal) that exists in their area. Describe the community of people in the area or an important neighbor and why they are important. Create a persuasive essay why their house (or school) is the best, friendliest, etc. in the area. Use tools to determine the distance between houses or to local historical places, places of interest, etc. Use the image as a powerful tool for writing.

Twurdy is web search that includes a readability index! Think of the implications: Everyone has different reading abilities. Some people searching the web are seven or eight year old children, while others are in high school or beyond. Twurdy provides access to search results that suit individuals' reading levels, by providing an easy color coded system to help you quickly determine how simple or hard the page will be to understand. The beauty is that it is not an extra step! Twurdy is powered by Google. Try it right now. It only takes a few seconds. Just go to the Twurdy website (by clicking on the title in this review) and copy/paste the URL - http://www.teachersfirst.com/index.cfm in the search box. Not only will you see Twurdy's value, you will have the added bonus of discovering our TeachersFirst website if you are not already a frequent user. While this site could be independently used by intermediate and secondary students, teachers of the primary grades may also find this site useful as a professional resource.

In the Classroom

Twurdy is useful for all grades and subjects. Teachers can spend hours looking for age/grade appropriate websites to display on classroom whiteboards, include in webquests, and recommend for usage with assignments. Save valuable time by finding the information that is most appropriate for your students. This will mean that more time can be spent actually getting the assignment done, rather than clicking through material that is either too difficult or too simplistic to use. Bookmark this site in your favorites and provide the link on your class web page to save yourself and your students a lot of time finding what you are looking for. Remember that you can "organize" recommended sites for students using a tool such as LiveBinders (reviewed here, share them with readability tips using Diigo reviewed here, or even color code them by reading level for younger students using Symbaloo reviewed here.

This site was developed with the idea that crucial concepts, themes, ideas, and fact sets taught in the classroom can be enhanced over the internet through interactivity. Furthermore, for teachers to have a reliable k -8 internet site to use in the computer lab or in the classroom, that likely covers one or many themes currently being taught. The Language Arts portion of the site contains several activities that can supplement any Language Arts program. Spelling Central allows teachers to input their own spelling words then converts the list into a word search, abc order practice, missing letter practice and a mixed up word activity that can be printed or practiced by students online. In addition, there are Language Arts games, reading comprehension exercises, story units, practice with commas, abc order, nouns and pronouns and more. Be sure to check out the animated biographies of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln. Students will need to be cautioned to ignore the ads on the right hand side of the page when exploring the site.

In the Classroom

This site will work well for classrooms with individual spelling lists as students can input their own list to create printables and online activities for spelling practice. Watch the animated biographies on your interactive whiteboard as part of your President's Day activities. Make a shortcut to this site on classroom computers and use it as a center. Share the link to the site on your classroom website or blog for students to access from home.